Fan voting keeps Judge in line for AL outfield

Fans recognize that there is the potential to witness something special every time Aaron Judge comes to home plate, which is why traffic at the concession stands tends to ease, no one willing to risk missing the next mighty cut destined for a highlight reel.

Fans recognize that there is the potential to witness something special every time Aaron Judge comes to home plate, which is why traffic at the concession stands tends to ease, no one willing to risk missing the next mighty cut destined for a highlight reel.

It's also why Judge will not be making any vacation plans for the upcoming All-Star Game, to be played on July 17 at Nationals Park in Washington. Tuesday's third checkpoint of voting continued to place Judge in line to be one of the American League's outfielders, and with good reason.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone has raved about Judge's consistency, noting that even if he goes hitless for a day or two, his at-bat quality does not suffer. Each night, Judge shows up at the ballpark intent upon making the opposing pitcher sweat, knowing that any mistake could be slugged a long way.

"That's one of my main goals every year; just try to be consistent, especially with the lineup we've got," Judge said. "If I can consistently get on base for the guys around me, I feel like we'll have a pretty good game. If I can get on base ... I feel like we'll score a lot of runs."

Judge ranks third among AL outfielders with 1,557,109 votes, trailing Mookie Betts of the Red Sox (2,337,514) and Mike Trout of the Angels (1,989,649).

Gary Sanchez ranks second among AL catchers with 904,678 votes, though a right groin strain is expected to sideline him through the Midsummer Classic. Wilson Ramos of the Rays (1,063,708) continues to hold a lead over Sanchez.

At shortstop, Didi Gregorius (639,630) moved up to third behind Manny Machado (960,628) of the Orioles and Carlos Correa (793,087) of the Astros. In the outfield, Brett Gardner rated eighth with 501,175 votes and Aaron Hicks placed 12th with 374,794 votes.

Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot until July 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps. Each fan can vote up to five times in any 24-hour period, for a maximum of 35 ballots cast.

Following the announcement of this year's All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to MLB.com and cast their 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Final Vote for the final player on each league's roster. Then on Tuesday, July 17, while watching the 2018 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard live on FOX, fans may visit MLB.com to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2018 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.

The 89th Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.